Brain Plasticity Flashcards
What is Brain Plasticity?
Brain Plasticity (or Neuroplasticity) refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt - modifying its own structure and function - as a result of experience.
Neuroplasticity occurs in the brain:
At the beginning of life: when the immature brain organises itself
In the case of brain injury: to compensate for lost functions or maximise remaining functions
Through adulthood: whenever something new is learnt and memorised
what is Negative Neuroplasticity
The result is that the brain over time shrinks, becomes less efficient, is less protected (e.g. from age) and is essentially older than it otherwise would be.
Developmental Plasticity: Synaptic Pruning
pruning removes axons from synaptic connections that are not functionally appropriate.
It strengthens important connections and eliminates weaker unnecessary neuronal structures, creating more effective neural communication.
The selection of the pruned neurons follows the “use it or lose it” principle, meaning that synapses that are frequently used have strong connections, while the rarely used synapses are eliminated.
The rubber hand illusion is an example of ‘neuroplasticity’ in action
To convince the brain that the rubber hand is an extension of our body, our senses of vision and touch combine with our senses of time and space to override what the brain previously ‘knew’.
Maguire et al. (2000) procedure
studied London taxi drivers to discover whether changes in the brain could be detected as a result of their extensive experience of spatial navigation.
Procedure: The researchers compared MRI scans of 16 male London taxi drivers vs. 50 male non-taxi drivers.
Maguire et al. (2000) results/ conclusions
Results:
The hippocampus of the taxi drivers was significantly larger than the non-taxi drivers’.
Hippocampal volume correlated positively with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrated plasticity of the hippocampus (an area of the brain linked with spatial and navigational skills) in response to environmental demands.
Maguire et al. concluded that the experience of having to plan routes and navigate around London from memory led to growth in the hippocampus.
what did Boyke et al. (2008) find
found evidence of brain plasticity in 60 year olds taught a new skill - juggling.
They found increases in grey matter in the visual cortex, although when practicing stopped, these changes reversed, supporting the idea that neurons that aren’t used eventually die.
what did Kuhn et al. (2014) do
Kuhn et al. (2014) compared a control group with a video game training group that was trained for 2 months for at least 30 min per day on the game Super Mario.
what did Kuhn et al. (2014) find
They found a significant increase in grey matter in various brain areas including the cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum. This increase was not evident in the control group that did not play Super Mario.
what did Kuhn et al. (2014) conclude
The researchers concluded that video game training had resulted in new synaptic connections in brain areas involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance - skills that were important in playing the game successfully.
